Woman towing the line

Boat/US Magazine, July, 2003 by Elaine Dickinson

They work as mother-daughter teams, husbands and wives and include a handful of singles, but boaters needing assistance on the water probably don't care who comes to their aid when they're in a jam. Just don't be surprised this summer when the smiling face behind the helm of that red towboat is a woman captain.

As the towing industry has grown in both size and professionalism, so have opportunities for women to get into what's long been a largely male occupation. A recent check of owners and licensed captains operating as part of the TowBoatU.S. nationwide fleet found no fewer than 20 women towing operators, all currently at work helping out boaters. Some came from other professions, including an emergency room nurse and a sailing instructor, but they all share a passion for being out on the water.

Some of the women already had U.S. Coast Guard operator's licenses and ran dive or charter boat businesses. Others simply grew up around boats and got into the towing business as naturally as kids who are computer nerds grow up to be programmers.

While some of the TowBoatU.S. women are business owners or co-owners, others were hired by the towing company owner. BoatU.S. Magazine recently caught up with a few of them--many answering their cell phones from their boats while out on a job.

Barrie McCune TowBoatU.S. Islamorada, FL

Nearly halfway down the Florida Keys, Capt. Barrie McCune heads up a family business that includes her husband (who doesn't like going out on the water), her son and her daughter-in-law, Capt. Diana McCune. Husband Donald is the radio operator.

Barrie grew up on and around the warm waters of the Sunshine State and, ironically, it was her father who encouraged her to pursue a waterborne career and get her captain's license. Unfortunately he passed away before she became a success in the fulltime towing business, "But he's up there smiling down on me, " she says.

After stints in everything from importing tropical fish and running a coral shop to working as a delivery captain, she and Donald had their own experiences with calling for on-the-water assistance. It then occurred to them: "Maybe we could do this as a business," Baffle said. That was 1988 and they took the necessary training to be licensed towers, operating as Poseidon Marine Towing & Salvage, and never looked back.

"Women think it's neat," Baffle said when asked how boaters react when she and Diana motor up to assist them. "But some of the men don't want anyone to know a couple of females helped them out."

Some male boaters she's encountered on the job have refused her help because they insisted she do something their way, rather than believe a fulltime, trained tower knows best.

A memorable rescue was a man adrift on the Fourth of July in Florida Bay, for whom the Coast Guard had been searching but could not find as night fell. Baffle and her son found him as he flicked a Bic lighter on and off in the darkness. Because of the holiday no one had paid any attention to all the flares he set off. The McCunes have also seen water spouts at close range rip off biminis and assisted with salvage following several hurricanes, including Andrew and George. Baffle was hired by the U.S. Navy to salvage a downed aircraft.

What do the McCunes do to get away from it all? "We go up to Lake Kissimmee and watch the cows graze," she laughed. "We have to get away from the water or we'll be listening to all the radios."

Her advice to other women thinking of marine careers: "Men do have their opinions," she philosophized, "But if you feel it's right, stick up for yourself."

Darah Basham TowBoatU.S. San Diego, CA

A self-proclaimed "sailing bum," Darali Basham grew up in a big East Coast sailing hub, Annapolis, MD, and has owned the same Erickson 35 sailboat for 28 years. (That alone could be some sort of record.)

Since 1985 she's held a Coast Guard operator's license to carry up to six passengers and not only operated charter and dive boat businesses but ran whale-watching tours as well. Gravitating to the perfect climate of San Diego, she was friends with Maritime Partners Ltd. towing operator Don Castellani for a long time before he convinced her to join his TowBoatU.S. crew. "Don caught me in a weak moment," she recalled, but having run her own businesses she found they involved too much paperwork. "I'd much rather be out on the water," she says.

Darah had just returned from a towing call in Mission Bay as she chatted on her cell phone. The night before she described as "pretty scary" when she towed a 47-foot motoryacht with a very seasick owner on board through 15-foot Pacific swells, after both of his engines died.

In a "previous life" Darah was an emergency room nurse for 15 years and, facing burnout, made what some might call a drastic career change. She describes fetching disabled vessels in all weather conditions and pitching seas as "easy" compared to nursing. She has been fortunate in that she said she's never had any boater question her abilities. "I enjoy it, just being out on the water and meeting people," she said. "I enjoy lending a helping hand."